Levi L. Brown Paper Co. v. Dean
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for the obstruction, from July 3, 1873, to March 8, 1875, of the machinery of the plaintiff’s mills in Adams, by water set back by a dam built by Horatio N. Dean, in I860lower down the stream.
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Tort for the obstruction, from July 3, 1873, to March 8, 1875, of the machinery of the plaintiff’s mills in Adams, by water set back by a dam built by Horatio N. Dean, in I860lower down the stream. Writ dated March 3, 1875. The case was tried in the Superior Court, before Dewey, J., with the preceding case, who reported it for the consideration of this court in substance as follows: The plaintiff corporation was duly organized on June 11, 1873, and the mill property and rights of the firm of Levi L. Brown and others were duly conveyed to the plaintiff. Horatio N. Dean died intestate on August…
1Opinion of the CourtColt, J.
The injury to the plaintiff’s mills was caused by the. backwater of a dam on adjoining premises below. For such an injury, an action lies either against the one who erected the dam, or against subsequent owners or occupants who, after notice, continue to maintain the obstruction. Staple v. Spring, 10 Mass. 72. McDonough v. Gilman, 3 Allen, 264, 267. Nichols v. Boston, 98 Mass. 39, 43.
In the case at bar, the dam complained of was erected by Horatio N. Dean in his lifetime, while owner of the property, to supply water for the use of his tannery. The defendant had nothing to do with its…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Nichols v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1867
- Staple v. SpringMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Wamesit Power Co. v. AllenMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1876
- Noyes v. StillmanSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1855
- Comth. ex rel. Jordan v. Bigelow, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Schuylkill County1873
3Cited by15 opinions
- National Cash-Register Co. v. LelandCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit · 1899
- Adler & Co. v. PruittSupreme Court of Alabama · 1910
- Coe v. WareMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1930
- Chester-Cambridge Bank & Trust Co. v. RhodesSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1943
- Folwell v. MillerCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1906
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